The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-06-23

Il told him base BALI He jumped to
his feet, threw his cocoanut hat into the
s.airs and hurrahed until nearly black In
& the face, and some Of the natives came
rushing In under the impression that he
I was getting killed He drove them out
+ with albese3bsH bat and continueds
ftt While raising those fat hogs and that
prize you remember, I thought to my
self: If i can select the finest animals sof
"a certain kind, trotting horses for In
stance, and breed still better trotters,
why can't select suitable people, train
them to q particular duty, select the most
kscapableS mate them and after q while pro
duce people 70 whom that duty will be
second naturef Il acted at once on the
snggsst1un, and I am happy to say I have
succeeded. e g. - -.
;ssss Why, said /, some few years ago 9
Mr.. Darwin expounded these views, and
they are now universally held BY all
people. BY the way, what kind of duty
have you brought them up tor Z
6 Baseball, answered John j. Jones,
ttI gasped.; And then I told him TO
what extent the game had developed; how
high priced ths players were and so on.
John J.'s face flushed with delight, and
he told me he'd got eighteen men and two
,umpires drilled so that they could do
everything. Said he'd tell me the next
day when they went to the grounds to
+ practice..'' And the Il Ancient Mariner
raised himself an inch or 80, rolled the
baltover SO as to fiud "a softer spot, and
sbegginga chew of tobacco sat down again
and continued:
THE next morning, after Q breakfast OF
6ofled rice, stewed monkey and a, drink
made from sour cocoanut milk, we set of
for the baseball grounds. @ u
ssssWhi1e- the mines were playing their
practice games John J. explained his
troubles and triumphs in the past fifty
years. He said after he got settled he
chose twenty Of the best built boys and
girls and set them to work playing ball;
made 'em keep. at. It; all they did was to
sleep, eat and play ball. In that warm
country, he told me, they get married at
the, age Of 10, and in the fifty years he
had been there he had raised four genera
Gons Of baseball players. Every genera
ton would be better and better, and he
chose the best players from each genera
tion, mated them, kept them in the same
positions in the baseball practice, and as q
result, he told me, he had eighteen players
and two umpires that he would back
against the world.
The practice game was soon through.
He said he had one pitcher-the fellow
who won the necklace-who could take
one OF their ordinary base balls ehe good
ones were turned from ironwood), get o
man to hold out q bat over the home plate,
and. he could give one of his regular de-
Hyeries, and cut that bat in two, about q
foot from the but end, as II it had been
taken off with cannon ball.
But It was while going back to the
village that John j: told me q story that
really does seem as II 1t might be a little
stretched. It was about the umpfres; said
he had the hardest work toughening 'em
up; almost gave the idea up one while.
Said he bothered his head long time
about It. But finally he got the clubs to-
gether and offered to furnish them with
Sall the Rhode Island clambakes they
wanted II they would take some clubs
after each game and pound the umpires
all they could stand; not kill 'em or MAIN
'em, but just give them good basting.
Here the Ancient Mariner explained that
Jones had eaten clambake years before in
Rhode Island, and one day he baked some
mussels and fed the natives on them. and
ever afterward they were perfectly crazy
after "Rut lend caum bachs," as they
pronounced it. They would kill their own
father for the succulent clam.] Jones
said the umpires Che always had a man
| and wife umpiring together, so that the
law Of heredity would have full sway
were rather indignant at first at being
knocked down and trod over, but they
got kinder used to it after awhile, Jones
said, and didn't seem to mind 1t o bit.
AS they got tougher Jones would use
harder clubs, and bimeby he used to fill
the ends of the clubs with bits. OF shell
and glass. He said it did cut 'em ut first,
but after while their skin would give
like India rubber. he kept the umpiring
business all in one family, sort Of an heir
loom, so to speak, handed 1t from father
sud mother to son and daughter; and that
evening Jones got his most toughened
umpire to lay down on big fiat rock in
front of his hut, and the first thing l
knew there were eighteen men and three
umpires all walking over him with spiked
sandals and pounding him with big clubs
with nails In 'em,: and I'll be blessed,
when the umpire got up he wasn't even
scratched. Jones told me he used him to
catch turtles. He would go down to the
shore and stick his foot into the water and
wait till turtle came along and took
hold; then some other natives would lug
both him and the turtle up to the village
and Jones would pry the turtles jaws
apart with hammer and o lot OF wedges.
sTS;dnt% h,,rf 1;,r, n hft 1onp9 said but it
: don,t seem hardly possible, does it'" And
the Ancient Mariner looked at us rather
queer.
| opinion at present and asked him to go on.
ssWeI, there amt much more to tell.
I stayed there month or two helping
Jones train those natives and giving
Jones points as to how the game Is played
at present. I came back as q sort OF agent
for Jones to mako arrangements to play
luis two teams against any here, and I've
got two or three western managers cor